After Yuan Shang received the news sent back by Xu You from Beixin City, his face turned gloomy. Although he had received the news that Yuan Xi had sent troops earlier, the other party's swift action still made Yuan Shang feel a lot of pressure.
If the enemy really takes down Black Mountain, would he be afraid that Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi would surround Jizhou?
What on earth is Yuan Xi thinking?
Especially now that the Black Mountain Army was defeated, and the long border between Bingzhou and Jizhou was given to Yuan Xi, he really couldn't swallow this breath!
Yuan Shang now has two choices. One is to send troops from Yecheng and attack Shangdang County, the southernmost county in Bingzhou. This place is the southern exit of the Taihang Mountains and borders Henei.
According to intelligence, Yuan Xi attacked the northern pass of Taihang Mountains between Taiyuan County of Bingzhou and Changshan County of Jizhou.
In this way, they can coordinate with Yuan Xi and make the Black Mountain Army lose sight of one thing while focusing on another.
But in this case, the Black Mountain Army would feel that Yuan Shang was a greater threat and might use their main forces to defend the south. Wouldn't this help Yuan Xi?
When Yuan Shang thought about letting Yuan Xi take advantage of him, he felt as uncomfortable as if he had eaten shit.
Moreover, one must be extremely cautious when sending troops from Weijun, because to the south of Shangdang County is Henei County, where Lu Bu, who is on bad terms with the Yuan family, is entrenched. Who knows if he will attack from behind?
Moreover, if troops are sent out from Ye City, it will inevitably be empty. What if Cao Cao in Dongjun turns against us?
Although Yuan Shang reached some deals with Cao Cao in private, he also understood that there is no such thing as a free benefit in the world. What good intention could Cao Cao have in making friends with him?
He was just using him to obtain the Five-Stone Powder, but it was not without cost. For example, a few days ago, Zang Hong came to Yecheng to ask for help and asked Yuan Shang to send troops to rescue the brothers Zhang Chao and Zhang Miao in Chenliu, but was rejected by Yuan Shang.
Rescuing Chenliu would mean breaking off relations with Cao Cao, and offending Cao Cao for Zhang Chao was obviously not worth it. Yuan Shang used this as an excuse to persuade Yuan Shao to reject Zang Hong.
Thinking of Zang Hong's resentful expression when he left, Yuan Shang sneered in his heart, how could you, a mere governor of Dongjun, dare to stir up any trouble!
Since it is not appropriate to send troops from Yecheng, another option is to break into the central pass of Taihang Mountains between Shangdang and Zhaojun and cut off Yuan Xi's steps to the south of Taihang.
If this is done, when Jizhou invades Bingzhou, the Black Mountain Army will be completely separated.
Pang Ji and Shen Pei also proposed a more suitable plan.
If we do not attack and just store heavy troops at the central pass, the Montenegrin army may panic and look for a breakthrough.
Between going south to Hanoi to join Lu Bu and going north to Youzhou to have a decisive battle with Yuan Xi, Pang Ji and Shen Pei discussed and agreed that Zhang Yan would most likely choose to go north.
Hanoi itself is short of food, the relationship between Lu Bu and Zhang Yan is not very good, and Hanoi cannot accommodate hundreds of thousands of mouths.
In comparison, Youzhou still has large tracts of land. It is said that water conservancy projects have been built and rice and wheat are planted. It has had bumper harvests for two consecutive years. As long as Yuan Xi can be defeated, a large amount of grain can be obtained.
It would be even better if we could occupy several counties in Youzhou. Even if we were attacked by Yuan in the future, Youzhou is close to the outside of the Great Wall, so we can attack or defend, and we have several retreat routes to choose from.
Zhang Yan is not an ordinary person either. He doesn't have many choices now, and he will most likely take a gamble!
If Zhang Yan attacked with all his strength, Yuan Xi would not be able to stop him and would be forced into Youzhou, losing several counties.
Of course, it was impossible for Yuan Shang to let Zhang Yan destroy Yuan Xi like this. At this time, he would brazenly lead a large army to attack Taihang Mountains, all the way north, and pursue Zhang Yan's retreat!
At this time, Zhang Yan had already chased out of Taihang Mountains. If Yuan Shang went north again to cut off the northern exit of Taihang Mountains, Zhang Yan would have no home to return to!
The final result was that Zhang Yan was attacked from all sides, and hundreds of thousands of Black Mountain troops were defeated in Youzhou and turned into bandits. Yuan Xi was busy dealing with them for the next few years, or even ten years, and he was unable to cause any more trouble!
This is the chain of strategies devised by Yuan Shang's two major advisers, to lure the snake out of its hole and drive the tiger to devour the wolf!
In this way, Yuan Shang would be able to control the Taihang Mountain area and open up a passage to Bingzhou. When Yuan Shao rewarded people based on merit, he would certainly choose someone who was close to Yuan Shang as the governor of Bingzhou.
Then he would find a way to make friends with the Southern Xiongnu in Bingzhou and obtain a large number of their cavalry. Yuan Shang's situation in Jizhou would be revitalized and he would gain the strength to compete for dominance in the world!
Yuan Shang reviewed this idea several times and felt that there should be nothing wrong with it. He couldn't help but burst into a triumphant laugh.
He suddenly remembered that he still had a chess piece in Youzhou, Chanyu Tadun.
Should we ask him to send troops to cause some trouble for Yuan Xi?
Yuan Shang thought about it and realized that Chanyu Tadun was a man who would not release his eagle until he saw the rabbit. If he wanted him to work for him, he had to meet the conditions for marriage with him.
Yuan Xing actually had no ability to resist, the key was how to persuade Yuan Shao.
Yuan Shang's eyes began to roll around.
Yuan Xi had already entered Beixin City. He didn't have time to return home, so he went directly to the military camp to watch the soldiers training.
There are still thousands of soldiers in Beixin City now. Although they have not received the new coordinated training in sword, shield, spear and crossbow, they have all experienced several major battles and are quite proficient in infantry combat. Ju Shou has never stopped training the troops since he took office, so their combat effectiveness is not weak.
Yuan Xi thought about it and decided to temporarily let Tian Yu lead the troops.
He thought that he still lacked a infantry commander like Gao Shun. Logically, Qu Yi was the most suitable person, but he went to Hanoi.
However, Yuan Xi also knew that Qu Yi's body was not suitable for going to the battlefield, and every battle was fought at the cost of his life.
What made Yuan Xi even more depressed was that he had previously asked Qu Yi to wait in Jicheng for him to bring Hua Tuo over to check on his physical condition.
As a result, Qu Yi was reluctant to see a doctor and stayed in Beixin City. Later, when he heard that Yuan Xi wanted to find someone to meet Lu Bu, he immediately set off for Hanoi.
Yuan Xi was a little worried. If this continued, even if Qu Yi came back, he didn't know how bad his health would be, and he didn't know what he was thinking!
Moreover, there has been no news since Qu Yi arrived in Hanoi. Chen Gui should also be negotiating with Lu Bu at this time. I wonder how the progress is?
Thinking of Lu Bu, Yuan Xi had a vague feeling that he would meet him sooner or later. If he found out that he was Yin Hu and felt that he was being used, he would not go crazy and kill him, right?
Yuan Xi summoned everyone to inquire about the situation in the city and found that some baggage was not ready yet, so he asked everyone to reorganize the troops, gather food and supplies, and wait in Beixin City for a few days.
He was sitting in a carriage, preparing to return to his mansion after being away for more than half a year.
As soon as he entered the carriage, he saw Cao Xian looking at him and smiling.
He asked in confusion, "What are you laughing at?"
Cao Xian chuckled a few more times, "I didn't expect that you would bring me along alone this time."
"I'm afraid Sister Zhaoji is angry that I took her place and will teach me a lesson when I get back."
Seeing Cao Xian's smug look, without any sign of worry, Yuan Xi couldn't help but feel angry and amused, and patted her on the head: "What are you thinking about all day long?"
"Now that Yixue is flourishing, everything cannot be done without Zhaoji. Instead of keeping her by my side, it is better to let her play a greater role."
After hearing this, Cao Xian pouted and said, "Humph, anyway, I can't become a talented woman like Sister Zhaoji. It is said that she is called the female teacher in the charity school."
"I am not like Madam Zhen, who has been well-read since childhood and is known as a female doctor."
Yuan Xi saw that she was in a bad mood and said with a smile, "Okay, I will send you back to the charity school now."
After hearing this, Cao Xian immediately put on a flattering look and said, "Sir, I was just joking. Being able to serve you alone is better than anything else."
Seeing that she even took the opportunity to lick the corner of her mouth with her tongue, Yuan Xi felt overwhelmed by her antics and thought to himself that the war was about to begin and he didn't want to fall off his horse due to his weak legs!
As they were talking, there was a commotion outside the carriage. Teams of fully armed cavalrymen shouted and rushed through the streets, and people on both sides dodged.
Sun Li hurriedly drove the carriage aside. A passing cavalryman almost hit him. He reined in his horse and started cursing.
But when he saw Sun Li's attire, his face changed and he turned to leave. Sun Li asked, "Is there something going on outside the city?"
The man hesitated for a moment and said, "General, there are Black Mountain bandits outside the city." After that, he rode his horse and followed everyone.
When Sun Li saw Yuan Xi coming out, he smiled and said, "This guy is quite clever."
The cavalryman was most likely so polite because he saw the rank mark on Sun Li's clothes.
Yuan Xi saw several more scouts rushing past and knew something was wrong outside the city. He returned to the carriage and said to Cao Xian, "Put on your armor."
Cao Xian quickly took out the armor from the corner, Yuan Xi jumped off the carriage, took it and put it on, and Cao Xian quickly put on the leather buckles on the back of the armor one by one.
Yuan Xi picked up the ring-handled sword under the seat, held the outer leather sheath with one hand, and pulled out half of the sword with the other hand.
As the scabbard was opened, it was accompanied by the aroma of oil. The newly forged blade flashed a cold green light, as if longing for something.
Yuan Xi felt that something familiar had returned to his body again. This was one of the two most primitive desires of conquest in men's blood since the birth of mankind.
Kill and conquer.
Since the last battle of Guangling, this feeling has been diluted a lot by another desire, but with the call of the ring-handled sword in his hand, Yuan Xi became restless again.
He jumped on his horse and said to Sun Li, "Follow me to the top of the city wall!"
Hou was waiting at the gate of the mansion with her daughter. She had learned the news in advance that the envoy would finally lead his troops back to the city today.
While she felt vaguely uneasy, she seemed to be relieved at the same time. She thought the other party had given up Beixincheng and would never come back.
In this case, would I have to take my child with me and live out my life in exile in the north?
She felt a little ashamed of her thoughts. Wasn't this what she had been expecting?
While she was in a daze, she saw groups of fast horses in the city, and the cavalry on the horses rushed to the city gate.
The Hou family was used to it. It must be that the Black Mountain Army came to harass them. This happened frequently these days.
According to what she heard, these Montenegrin troops specifically killed refugees fleeing outside the battlefield, causing panic among the people.
Soon, the convoy with the governor's emblem slowly woke up and stopped in front of the mansion gate.
When Hou saw the car door open, she was about to go up to greet him, but she saw Cao Xian jump down alone.